Prof. John H. Jackson was born in Lexington on October 31, 1850 where he received his early education in the public schools. He later attended Berea College, graduating with high honors in 1874, being the first Negro graduate of the Bluegrass State. Following graduation, he taught a number of years in Lexington and in 1881 became the President of Lincoln High Schools in Kansas City. While there he held many important positions such as Clerk of the Jury Commission and Clerk of the Police Board of Commissioners of Kansas City, as well as a member of the Board of Examiners, Kansas City. In 1887 he went to work for the State Normal College of Frankfort, KY, where he remained until 1898.

He was married to Henrietta Stewart in July 1877, who passed away in November 1887. Two sons, Arthur and Atwood, were born to this marriage. In 1889 he married Ida Joyce and they had one child, Earl. They made their home at a home provided by the Regents of the Lincoln Institute where he served as President.

President’s Home – Lincoln Institute

Sam W. James

Sam W. James, Jr., Jefferson City attorney, was born in Sedalia May 24, 1900, the son of Samuel and Rose E. James of that city. Following his graduation from the Sedalia High School Mr. James entered the state university. January 1, 1921, he came to Jefferson City to take a position in the office of the Secretary of State, Charles U. Becker, which he held until August 1932. Meanwhile, November 23, 1929, he was admitted to the bar and the following February he opened an office for the practice of law.

Sam W. James, Sr., prominent in real estate and insurance and as a Republican Party leader, died June 27, 1936. He was born in Washington Township, Pettis County, February 7, 1871, the only child of Samuel B. and Louvina M. James. He was active in the newspaper business for about twenty years. A lieutenant in the Spanish-American War, after the war he organized a National Guard company in Sedalia of which he was captain, and he was major in the National Guard from 1905 to 1910. He served as probate judge and as prosecuting attorney of Pettis County. He was a member of the Presbyterian Church. The James family, pioneers in Pettis County, is of Connecticut origin. In 1898 Sam W. James married Rose E. Grosshaus, a native of Pettis County, daughter of George J. and Mary Eicholz Grosshaus.

Sam W. James, Jr., was married February 1, 1922, to Miss Georgia I. Fowler. Their daughter, Betty Jean, was born July 16, 1933. Mrs. James was the daughter of Green C. Fowler (see sketch), a prominent citizen of Cole County who was born in Clark Township Marcy 7, 1854. Educated as a civil engineer, he served two terms as county surveyor. A leader in the Democratic Party, he served four years as County Assessor and ten years as probate judge. March 6, 1879, he married Artemitia Hanley who died August 9, 1892. Following her death he married Eliza Ellen Amos. She was born in Millbrook, Mo., September 10, 1858, the daughter of Benjamin Amos. Her daughter, Mrs. James, was born August 17, 1900. Green C. Fowler died February 13, 1919.

The Fowler family in this city is of Virginia origin. James Fowler of Virginia, a colonial scout, served under Col. Wm. Russell at Fort Bliss. His son, James Fowler, Jr., born in Virginia in 1780, bought land in Saline County, Missouri, where his widow, Esther Fullen Fowler, started with her large family after his death in 1822. In Jefferson City she met a former neighbor and was induced to settle in this county. Her son, Whitley, born in 1815, was a small boy when the family arrived here. He became an engineer and surveyor, and served many years as county judge during which time he handled probate matters. He was the father of Green C. Fowler. He married Anna, daughter of James Martin, in 1843.

Albert Jobe

Albert Jobe, Jefferson City jeweler, was born near Elston, Cole County in 1888. He attended school at Elston and Jefferson City, and took a course in a business college. He spent some time in the state of California, returning to Jefferson City in 1916. Having learned the jeweler’s trade, from 1916 to 1933 he worked for jewelry stores in this city, including thirteen and a half years at the Phil Dallmeyer store. In 1933 he opened his own store on High Street.

The Jobe family came to Missouri in the early 1800s and settled in Cole County, some of them in what later became Moniteau County. Albert Jobe’s father, Bosh Jobe, married Nancy Pieper, a native of Cole County who lived with her husband on the farm where she was born. Bosh Jobe’s father, David Jobe, was killed in the Civil War.

In 1917 Albert Jobe was married to Miss Naomi Chambers, daughter of John D. and Sue Chambers of near Centertown. The Chambers family came to Cole County in 1816 with the first colony to settle here (see sketch).

Prof. Lee Jordan

Prof. Lee Jordan was born in Moniteau County near High Point on January 27, 1867. At the age of fifteen he and his family moved to Miller County where he attended the Miller County Institute at Spring Garden. He began teaching at the age of 15 and taught over the years throughout Miller, Moniteau and Miller counties. He took charge of the Russellville School in September 1898. He also served as School Commissioner of Miller County two terms.

He married Ella Pitchford, daughter of Judge J.J. Pitchford of Spring Gardens, on April 27, 1887. To this union five children were born.